All Kids Covered
Today, there are more than 6 million children who are eligible for health coverage under Medicaid or SCHIP (State Children’s Health Insurance Program) but not enrolled. Uninsured children are much less likely to receive treatment for curable conditions that can affect their long-term health as well as performance in school.
As a first step toward healthcare assurance for all children, the goal of All Kids Covered (among America’s Promise Alliance’s three National Action Strategies) is to see that these children enroll in the publicly funded insurance programs for which they are eligible.
To implement this strategy, Alliance partners will be engaged in awareness outreach and application assistance.
Three Ways You Can Be Involved
- Help raise awareness about Medicaid and SCHIP among families who are eligible but not yet enrolled.
- Increase the availability of application assistance. Partner with local organizations (where available) that assist people in applying for insurance coverage under Medicaid or SCHIP. You do NOT have to provide application assistance to be involved in the All Kids Covered effort.
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Advocate for the Reauthorization of SCHIP on a national level and for streamlined enrollment and re-enrollment processes for Medicaid and SCHIP in your State.
Connecting Uninsured Children to Health Coverage Webinar Recording
On June 11, 2009, America’s Promise Alliance hosted a webinar entitled Back to School Outreach: Strategies for Connecting Uninsured Children to Health Coverage. The webinar recording is available for download in two audiovisual files.
View Video on Children's Healthcare
Use the following video to learn more about why Medicaid and SCHIP are important an the role that youth and family serving organizations can play in increasing enrollment:
Additional Information About Medicaid and SCHIP
Why This Strategy Is Important
Health insurance coverage and regular access to medical care are not luxuries. They are absolutely essential to ensure the well-being and healthy development of our children.
Families without insurance are much more likely to face barriers that make it difficult or impossible to receive the health services their children need. For example:
- Uninsured children are less likely to get preventive screenings or care for chronic conditions
- Uninsured children are more likely to be diagnosed with severe health conditions at later stages, when illnesses are more difficult to treat
- Uninsured children are less likely to receive major health interventions*
- Uninsured children are at greater risk of experiencing delays in language development.
- Uninsured children are at greater risk of long-term performance problems in school. **
All of these risks have implications for the dropout epidemic that is plaguing America’s children and threatening our nation’s future economic well-being.
* Hadley, J. 2002. Sicker and Poorer: The Consequences of Being Uninsured. Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured.
** Institute of Medicine. 2002. Health Insurance is a Family Matter.
All Kids Covered Working Group Co-Chairs:
Jay Berkelhamer, Board Member, American Academy of Pediatrics
Father Larry Snyder, President, Catholic Charities USA